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Samsung Galaxy S 4 sales start next week in US

(AP) NEW YORK - U.S. wireless carriers have started revealing prices for Samsung’s new flagship phone, the Galaxy S 4, which goes on sale starting next week.

AT&T Inc. has started taking advance orders and says phones will ship starting April 30. It’s charging $200 for the base model, with 16 gigabytes of memory, under a two-year contract. Staples says it will start selling the AT&T model on April 26.

Sprint Nextel Corp. starts taking advance orders Thursday and says in-store sales start April 27. It charges $250 for the base model, or $150 if the buyer is coming over from another carrier.

T-Mobile USA starts taking advance orders next Wednesday, and in-store sales start May 1. It’s charging $150 up front and $20 per month for two years under its new installment plans. Those plans replace two-year service contracts that most carriers require. T-Mobile has abandoned them in favor of cheaper month-to-month plans.

Verizon Wireless has said it will sell the phone, but hasn’t announced a release date or price. Smaller carriers U.S. Cellular, Leap Wireless’ Cricket and C Spire will also sell the phone.

Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S 4 is the successor to the Galaxy S III, which has been the biggest competitor to Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

The Galaxy S 4 has a slightly bigger screen, a larger battery and a faster processor than its predecessor.